A Las Vegas jury has found former gang leader Duane “Keffe D” Davis (63) guilty of murdering hip-hop icon Tupac Shakur three decades after the rapper’s death.

The verdict was delivered on Monday following just hours of jury deliberation, bringing closure to one of America’s most notorious cold cases.

“Count one, murder with use of a deadly weapon, guilty of first-degree murder with use of a deadly weapon,” the jury foreperson announced to the court.

Davis, who faces life in prison without parole, told Judge Carli Kierny he intends to appeal the conviction. Sentencing is scheduled for 13 October.

Revenge shooting after casino brawl

The former South Side Compton Crips leader was accused of orchestrating the 7 September 1996 killing after his nephew was assaulted by members of Shakur’s entourage at a Las Vegas casino.

“Duane Davis, in the culture of gangs, could not let that stand,” prosecutor Binu Palal told the court during closing arguments. “So what did he do? He acquired a firearm, got his group together, and went hunting for Mr Shakur.”

Shakur was in Las Vegas to attend a Mike Tyson heavyweight boxing match when he was shot approximately two hours after the casino confrontation. A gunman in a white Cadillac opened fire as the vehicle pulled alongside the BMW carrying the rapper in the front passenger seat.

Prosecutors argued that Davis handed the firearm to someone in the Cadillac’s back seat and ordered them to shoot. Shakur died six days later. Davis is the only person who was in the Cadillac that night still alive.

Death Row Records co-founder Marion “Suge” Knight, who was driving the BMW, was wounded in the attack.

Memoir confession revived case

The investigation remained stagnant for decades due to lack of evidence, but gained momentum when Davis published his memoirs in 2019.

In his autobiography, “Compton Street Legend”, Davis admitted he was in the front seat of the Cadillac and handed a pistol to passengers in the back seat. However, he did not identify who fired the fatal shots.

Davis had repeatedly discussed his involvement in Shakur’s murder in law enforcement interviews, media appearances and his book.

Palal played clips from Davis’s alleged confessions during closing arguments.

Defence claims fabrication

Defence attorney Michael Sanft argued his client’s confessions were fictional and designed partly to promote his book sales.

“You’re reading a book that is fiction and not fact,” Sanft told the jury. “But the state wants you to believe that this is somehow a confession, that he was there and present at the time of the shooting.”

Sanft maintained there was no evidence linking Davis to Shakur’s murder beyond his own statements.

Davis has since retracted his confessions and pleaded not guilty to the murder charge. His lawyers unsuccessfully attempted to exclude the book and a 2008 police interview from being introduced as evidence.

Hip-hop legend silenced

Shakur (25) was a central figure in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry that defined the 1990s rap scene.

The Baltimore-raised son of a Black Panther became synonymous with California hip-hop after signing with Los Angeles-based Death Row Records. His hits included “California Love” and “All Eyez on Me”.

Davis, whose Crips gang was part of a network of rival gangs controlling parts of Los Angeles during the 1990s, is the only person ever charged in connection with Shakur’s death.